Menu
Very loud but outstanding food and service
excellent service from the waiter. The mussels app was outstanding.
martini's and wine recommendations were very good.
Highly recommend for a great date night.
Food is always outstanding, the burrata was heavenly! Even though it was very busy, service was very good, if less personable than our first visit. Looking forward to going again soon.
This is our favorite place for date night! The food is delicious and we often go with the chef’s tasting and wine pairing so we can taste so many things. They never disappoint!
Had dinner there for the first time on the Saturday after Valentine’s Day. Lots of couples seemed to have the same idea.
It was mostly very good imo. The service was great, just excellent. Place is a bit loud but that’s cool. The music was pretty good so there’s that.
Now the food.
Her salad. House or garden salad I think. It was great. Super fresh ingredients and perfect light dressing. Perfect.
I had the veal appetizer. It was sort of like carpaccio. Excellent.
Entrees. She had the black grouper special. Also very good. Nice items alongside but some were way too salty.
I had the diver scallops. Also very good. Not spectacular but very good. The char on the outside was nice. Excellent items alongside. Some a bit spicy but that’s fine. Others again over salted.
She had also ordered us a side of roasted Brussels Sprouts and they were massively over salted.
If we go back, we’ll let em know about the salt issue.
Dessert and coffee were great. We had the olive oil and balsamic vinegar cake with strawberries and strawberry ice cream alongside mmm.
Il Ritorno is our favorite for special occasions and we always have plenty of those on the calendar. The exceptional service and ambiance are wonderful. You must appreciate adventurous, inventive and special ingredients with fair portions. Delicious homemade pastas, focaccia and gelato. A dish for everyone’s palate including vegetarian.
We generally try the octopus appetizer which is prepared differently almost every time so the menu changes often based on seasonal availability. Beautiful full bar with a good wine list. We also very much appreciate being able to bring our own favorite Italian wine on occasion with a fair corkage fee.
Ron has always been so helpful with special requests.
Thanks for keeping your menu and restaurant so top notch.
This was our 3rd valentine's day dinner at Il Ritorno and I hate to say that is was some what disappointing. We frequent this restaurant for celebrations and random nights out for great food but this time around really had us questioning what was going on with the staff. I'm guessing this was due to the high volume of patrons for valentine's but since we have been here twice before to celebrate the holiday it only makes us speculate that the extra seating they have expanded might be putting too much stress on the staff. We were seated in the expanded area which was honestly awkward and weirdly quiet. The area made us feel like an after thought.
We got the 5 course meal with wine pairings that we have gotten times before and is usually phenomenal, this time just okay. We usually leave the restaurant raving about each course and how inventive/informative everything course was, this time around not much was memorable about any one dish. Our steaks had gristle and was somewhat bland as well as the dessert course. The pasta course was served no way near evenly portioned between us two. Our wine, although great and well paired, was inconsistently timed after our plates were served and the information about the wine/plates was a bit rushed. We realize our server was doing his best and he was as attentive as he could be with the high volume. I'd honestly say he was a great server for the situation at hand, but on a normal day he is probably phenomenal.
I'd honestly give 3 stars for overall but I gave 4 because we have had extremely memorable dinners here in the past. I really hope this last experience will not the norm for us and Il Ritorno's future since this place is truly one of our favorite restaurants in St Pete.
One of the best meals we have ever had. Outstanding.
Always amazing food and service. Red roses for all the lady guests on 2/13. Nicely done.
Absolutely fantastic!
This was my early birthday/Valentine’s Day dinner with my husband and a dear friend who we have not see when we visit
St. Pete. We’ve never gone to Il Ritorno with her so this was our chance! It did not disappoint. The foccacia was outstanding - moist and chewy, served with a very tasty pesto. Our entrees included grouper, wild boar ragu with rigatoni and a sautéed crispy chicken. All 3 were delicious and just different enough to be interesting. A side salad was shared as was the gelato with espresso for dessert.
The most innovative restaurant in St. Pete!
Staff was amazing however we could barely even hear ourselves talk, much less the server. The acoustics there are horrendous. I must say, as excited as I was to try out their food (after hearing and reading so many amazing reviews) the food was....well just a bit too much without any cohesion to each dish. Every dish we had was very eclectic without a true “main component” to base off of. I appreciate the effort, but I feel like they are trying too hard and need to get back to the basics of true Italian food. The food wasn’t bad by any means, just way too complicated.
Four people, eight different dishes, and every one of them was fabulous. We finished up by splitting a single cannoli among the four of us, which turned out to be a wonderful way to complete a tremendous dinner out.
Overpriced, food it ok but I've had better Italian at Carabas
Outstanding meal, from start to finish. Great service. But sooo loud. Only downside.
Frequent visitor to this restaurant. Usually fabulous. There was an error made with food allergies which was disappointing. The item wasn’t comp’d either. Slightly disappointed
Based on reviews, we were excited about visiting this restaurant. It is certainly well-staffed, and the service was excellent. Our gripe was with the overall value. The only option for a glass of pinot noir was $15, and it was not a good pour. We both had the squid as an appetizer, and though it was well-prepared, it didn't "wow" us. Same for the grouper special we ordered. Overall we felt we had an unremarkable meal that left us much lighter in the wallet.
Excellent. Service is great. Quality of food . pasta to die for
From beginning to end, the service and the food was spectacular! Can’t wait to experience it again! We will be back for the chefs table!
Well trained staff and well executed dishes made for a lovely evening.
This is a must for anyone visiting in St Pete. Excellent food and service. For those who live in the area and have not been - you goota try it. You will be delighted!
Great service and staff with excellent food. Ronald always pleases.
Everything was incredible from the service to the 5 course tasting and the wine pairing! We will be back again very soon! I will have to say the main room of the restaurant was well done, my wife and I however where seated in the “back room” where not much effort is made to make it feel like part of the rest of the restaurant and when we are paying close to $400 for a dinner for two and there are clearly open tables in the main dining room I would have sat my customers there. But that is just my opinion! I will recommend EVERYONE go and eat there as it’s incredible!
Very chic restaurant. Great menu, delicious food. Very nice wine list. Wait staff helpful and professional. We will be back.
I have eaten here 3 times. I have to say by far the best italian in st. Petersburg. The octopus was perfect. Ever pasta I have tried was delightful. And the half off on pasta was nice on the budget. Keep up the great work I will be back
This was my first visit, and I was extremely impressed. The service was excellent, and the food was really exceptional. I love pasta, and the pasta dish was one of the best I've had in the past year - really good. Even the wine list was well-chosen and interesting. The restaurant is clean and well-kept; I downgraded the ambience a bit since the same space could be a routine pizza joint. But Il Ritorno is FAR more than that in terms of food and service - I will definitely return next time I'm in St Pete.
We have never had anything other than a perfect experience at Il Ritorno!
Fabulous evening, excellent food!!!!!
Wow, we never expected this “over the top restaurant” in St Petersburg.
An unpretentious front , leads to some of the finest food we ve ever enjoyed, seriously, and we’ve done many Michelin stars.
Our first night they had risotto with real! White truffles! Best I’ve ever had and I’m a connoisseur of risotto.
The salads and deserts were beautiful and fabulous.
So, we came back two nights later and again it exceeded our expectations.
We asked for a signed menu from the chef, and bot a $200 certificate for son and wife to enjoy.
If you find better food anywhere, please let us know.
Great food & service. Will definitely come back next time I’m in St. Petersburg
Il Ritorno is consistently fantastic! With their seasonal menu changes there is always something new,creative and delicious to try. They just get better and better .
Best ink pasta ever!!! Very attentive service.
We went for my best friends birthday. The atmosphere and the food were top notch! Would definitely come back. Thank you!
Unbelievably excellent cuisine. We did the chef's 5 course special and it was probably the best meal I've ever had.
Excellent!! What a great place!!
Amazing food atmosphere and wait staff. Traveled around the world and definitely one of top 5 restaurants I have ever been to. Will absolutely return many times. Kudos to all
We’ve found most of the restaurants in St Pete are good but nothing really that knock your socks off. We’ve been looking for a restaurant in St Pete that we compare to one of our favorite restaurants where we used to live in Virginia (Clarity). Well we found it! We did the 5 course tasting menu and it was excellent! Every course was delicious and Chef accommodated dietary needs. The food is elegantly prepared and just the right portions and the service was spot on. We have now found our favorite restaurant here and can’t wait to go back.
We have been to Il Ritorno’s several times
The food and the service never disappoint
Great for any occasion and the Menu is always changing .
The food took too long between purses (30+ min) but it was nonetheless fantastic.
